The Truth Hurts
by Just A Girl Of The Hollow x3
Summary: How will Shelby deal with this new truth?
1. New York

A/N: Okay, here's the sequel to 'You Know You're My Everything?' I highly suggest you read YKYME before you read this. You will be so incredibly confused if you don't! I will do my other sequel for LLGM either when I'm done this one or somewhere during this. Here's some background:

Okay, Shelby is now 16 so this story picks up around 9 years later. That makes Justin (Lorelai and Luke's kid) 14 years old, Garret (Ashley and Tyler's kid) 11 years old, Lucas (Matt and Macy's kid) 10 years old, and Lindsey (Rory and Jess' kid) around 8.

Rory has written another book and is working on another one. Ashley has been in many shows since then, but has decided to take a break and come back to live in Stars Hollow with Garret and Tyler. Macy works as an attending in the ER at Hartford General Hospital. Matt and Paris have since, opened their own law firm in Hartford that is well-known, but commute from Stars Hollow. Paris' husband's name is Jake. Jake is also a lawyer and works at the law firm with Matt and Paris. The law firm's name is Gilmore, Gellar, and Lopez. Paris kept her maiden name only for work. Hailey and Molly still own _The Way We Were_, but everyone refers to it as _Molly's _because it's easier to say. Nick runs the entire company that he was the CEO of now because the owner is getting too old to run it himself. Soon, it will be handed to him by the owner. Steve is still the Hollow's eye doctor and Lane and Dave's band just finished a tour, so Lane and Dave are moving back to the Hollow for a break. Shelby still doesn't know the truth.

This story will mostly be about Shelby's life, so if that doesn't interest you then too damn bad. Don't read it then.

Disclaimer: Don't own any characters except the ones that I made up…which is a lot…you get the point!

On with the story…

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**Chapter 1: New York**

"Mom! I'm going to Lauren's house; I'll be back in few hours!" Shelby Mariano called through the house to her mother.

"Okay Sweets, call if you need anything!" Rory Mariano called back.

"Shell-Shell! Where are you goin'?" 8-year-old Lindsey Elizabeth Mariano asked her sister as she ran to the front door.

Shelby bent down so that she was eye level with Lindsey, "I'm just going to my friend's house baby; I'll be home a little later okay Lin?"

"Otay," Lindsey said. She hugged Shelby and ran back to the living to room to watch cartoons.

"I'm leaving! Bye mom!" Shelby called and then walked out the door.

Rory was working on her third book's 10th chapter, because it was due tomorrow, upstairs in the office and Jess was at work; it was deadline day in the Mariano house.

Shelby started walking in the direction of Lauren's house and on the way there she passed her grandfather's diner and went in to get coffee.

"Hey Grandpa, Justin, can I have coffee?" Shelby greeted as she sat down at a stool.

"No," Luke said.

"Sure," Justin replied and poured his niece some coffee. He was younger than his niece. She called him Justin.

"Traitor," Luke muttered and went in the back.

"Where you going?" Justin asked.

Shelby took a big sip of her coffee and answered, "Lauren's house. We're planning our trip to New York next weekend."

"Ah, who are you guys going with again?" Justin questioned.

"Um, me, Lauren, Rachel, Peter, Andy, and Bryan," Shelby answered uneasily, knowing Justin didn't like when she went anywhere alone with the boys.

Justin narrowed his eyes, "Does Jess know that?"

"Mom knows. Dad knows we're going," Shelby replied.

Justin sighed and stopped wiping the counter, "You have to tell him."

"I know," Shelby whined, "I will when the time is right."

"Knowing you that will be while you're driving out of the driveway," Justin quipped.

"You know me so well," Shelby replied and got up to finish her walk to Lauren's house.

"Bye!" Justin called after her.

Shelby simply looked over her shoulder and winked at him.

"What am I going to do with that girl?" Justin muttered to himself.

--

**Lauren's House**

"Okay, so who's driving and what car are we taking?" Shelby questioned.

Shelby cut her hair so that it was just above her shoulder and straightened it most of the time. She still had her electric blue eyes.

"Um, I think Bryan is driving there and Peter is driving home. We're taking Andy's car though," Lauren explained.

Lauren was skinny with straight blonde hair and green eyes.

"Why isn't Andy driving his own car?" Rachel questioned.

Rachel was well-built. She was a gymnast so she had muscles with chocolate brown hair and eyes.

"Doesn't like driving," Lauren answered distractedly as she wrote down all of the details.

"What kind of car does he have?" Shelby asked.

"A black Expedition," Lauren answered.

"Oh, good; a lot of room!" Shelby smiled and clapped her hands.

"You are so weird," Rachel laughed and looked over Lauren's shoulder at what she was writing.

"Am not," Shelby pouted and crossed her arms.

"We love you," Lauren and Rachel chorused.

"Yeah, yeah," Shelby muttered.

They spent the next 3 hours eating, laughing, and planning their weekend trip to New York. After they had planned out everything, they called the boys and filled them in. Shelby went home and as she was making her way to the kitchen she overheard Rory and Hailey talking.

"When Rory? This is eating me up inside," Hailey cried.

"I know Angel; it's just going to be so hard to tell her. How do you tell a kid that?" Rory claimed.

"I don't know Ror, but I can't keep going on without Shell knowing. It's killing me," Hailey sobbed into Rory's chest and just then Shelby walked the rest of the way into the kitchen. She didn't want to know whatever it was about herself by overhearing it.

"Hey mom, Aunt Hail," Shelby greeted and went to the refrigerator to get some orange juice.

Hailey picked her head up and looked pointedly at Rory.

"Not without Jess here," Rory hissed.

"Ror! I'm home!" Jess called through the house.

"Kitchen!" Rory called back as Hailey narrowed her eyes at her.

"Hey," Jess said as he walked in and gave Rory a quick kiss, "Hey Angie, Shell."

"Jess," Hailey greeted.

"Dad," Shelby said as she gave him a hug.

"Rory, now," Hailey warned.

"Now what?" Jess asked.

Hailey looked at him, it dawned on Jess quickly, "Now?"

"Yes," Hailey said adamantly.

"Where's Lin?" Jess asked.

"Over Matt's," Rory answered.

"Okay, let's do it," Jess said and sat down in a kitchen chair.

"Shell?" Rory said.

"Yes?" Shelby answered.

"We need to tell you something," Jess started as steady tears ran down Hailey's face.

--

A/N: Ah! Cliffy!! Alright so there it is. Tell me how it was! I know it's not very long but it's the first chapter, the next ones will be longer. Also, don't expect updates as quick as my last story because this is going to be much harder to write. I want to make it good for you guys so be patient! Press the pretty little button!


	2. The Truth

A/N: Okay, so I only got 2 reviews for the first chapter, but I always feel so bad if I don't update so I will try and make his chapter good. I know the last one wasn't very good and I want this story to be great so I'll try my best.

Disclaimer: Don't own…

On with the story…

--

**Chapter 2: The Truth**

"What's going on?" Shelby asked skeptically, "Why's Aunt Hailey crying?"

"Well Hunnie, this is a very hard subject for Hailey," Rory explained.

"Well what subject are we talking about?" Shelby asked as she crossed her arms.

"You," Jess said as he tried his best to sooth Hailey.

"What about me?" Shelby asked.

Hailey, Jess, and Rory all exchanged glances, "I'm not your aunt, Shelby," Hailey started.

"What?" Shelby asked confusedly.

"Lorelai and Luke aren't my parents," she continued, "They're my aunt and uncle."

"Huh?" Shelby asked.

"Hailey is my cousin, Shell," Rory stated.

"Where do I come in to all of this?" Shelby leaned back in her chair.

Rory started to cry then also, Jess tried to stay strong for this girls, "Babe, Hailey is your sister," Jess explained.

"What!?" Shelby quickly rose from her chair, sending it backwards, flying to the ground.

"Hun, our p-parents…they…left us alone in our house when you were just 6 months old," Hailey started.

"I can't believe this…my whole life has been a lie!" Shelby exclaimed.

"Shelby…," Rory choked out as she sobbed.

"No! How could you keep this from me for so long? I've been thinking my sister was my aunt and my cousins were my parents for 16 years!" Shelby was furious.

"We raised you when we were 16 years old Shelby! We are your parents! Maybe not biologically, but we raised you since before you were a year old! We got up in the middle of the night with you! We threw you birthday parties and went to parent's day! We love you like our daughter and we always will! You will always be our eldest _daughter_ Shelby, no matter what your birth certificate says," Rory stands up also.

"Yeah? Well what am I suppose to do now? What did telling me this do for me?" Shelby choked on a sob and let angry tears fall from her eyes, "All it did was upset everyone…if you were going to wait this long to tell me…you shouldn't have told me at all."

"Shelby…," Hailey said softly.

"No! I don't care if this was killing you! Now that I know do you feel better? I'm dead, I'm not dying; I'm dead Aunt Hailey! I've been living a lie for 16 years!" she paused, "I'm out of here," Shelby said as she walked towards the door grabbing her coat and purse on the way.

The three adults in the kitchen heard the door slam and winced simultaneously.

"Rory…Jess…," Hailey trailed off.

"Don't Hailey…just," Jess sighed, "just don't."

"Okay," Hailey whispered as she slumped in her chair.

"I-I can't be here," Rory said as she waved her hands around and walked to the entryway that connected the kitchen and living room, "Pick Linds up at 8," she said to Jess and left.

Hailey was now freely sobbing into her hands, "I'm so sorry Jess."

"I know Hailey," was all he said to her before he also left the kitchen leaving Hailey there crying hysterically.

--

**Shelby's POV**

After I stormed out of my house I ran. I ran and ran until I couldn't run anymore. I ended up at Natalie and Patrick Smith's house. Natalie and Pat were twins that were around 9 months older than me. Our families grew up together. When my mom and da—excuse me, when my cousins and I moved in down the street the Smiths threw us a welcome to the street party and ever since then our families have just always been there for each other. Not best friends or anything because my family had their group of best friends, but if one family needed the other they were there. Well, I needed Natty and Pat right then. I walked up to the front door, shaking as tears steadily strolled down my cheeks, under my chin and down my neck. I knocked 3 times and waited for someone to answer the door. Their little sister Mandy answered. She was so cute; she was of the tender age of 3 years old at the time.

"Hey Mandy, are Natty and Pat home?" I asked sweetly.

"Why you cryin' Shell?" Mandy tilted her head to the side and put her thumb in her mouth.

"I'm fine Sweetie. Where are Natty and Pat?" I smiled slightly and put a stray hair behind her ear.

"Upstairs," she said quietly and ran into the living room, leaving the door open for me.

I quietly stepped into my second home and started for the stairs. I peeked into the living room on my way and greeted Mr. and Mrs. Smith before I ascended the stairs and went to Natty's door. I knocked and then opened the door. Sitting on the bed was Natalie with her head phones on and a book in her hand with Pat right next to her in a similar position.

"Zoey? Pat?" I squeaked, ready to burst out in tears again. Natty was Zoey and I was Frannie. They were the nick names we've had since we were young.

They couldn't hear me. I closed the door and the sound must've gotten their attention because when I turned back around they had both taken off their head phones and put down their books.

"Shell?" Pat questioned as he eased himself off Natty's bed.

A sob escaped my mouth and I clasped a hand over it as I collapsed in Pat's waiting arms. I curled into his chest as sobs violently wracked my body.

"Baby what's wrong?' he whispered in my ear, rubbing my back lightly and gently kissing my head.

"My—and then—she's not…oh God!" I cried. Natty was situated on the floor next to us, fingers running through my hair soothingly and voice whispering reassuring nothings to me.

Both of them just sat there with me, letting me cry for around 15 minutes.

"Baby, you have to tell us what's wrong," Pat coaxed. He had been calling me 'baby' since I can remember; just his little term of endearment for me.

I collected myself and took a few deep breaths, "My Aunt Hailey is my sister, my parents are my cousins, and my grandparents are my aunt and uncle," I explained hastily.

"What?" Natty said confusedly.

"They just told me that they're not my parents. That my parents left Hailey and me when I was 6 months old. I didn't get much after that because I stormed out and ran until I couldn't run anymore, landing me here," I continued.

"Oh baby," Pat hugged me tight against his chest and stroked my hair. I was sitting in his lap on the floor, my face buried in his shirt. Pat was my rock, so was Natty. They would _always_ be there.

"Zoe?" I said.

"Yes, Fran?" she answered.

"I'm going to sleep here okay?" I told her with a yawn.

"Uh huh," she replied with droopy eyes.

I guess with all of the commotion the three of us had grown tired because Pat was drifting off too.

We ended up sleeping in that basic position. I was seated in Pat's lap, his arms around me and his back against Natty's bed. Natty had her head on my stomach and feet splayed out in front of her.

--

**Rory's POV**

After I walked solemnly out my front door I slowly walked to mine and Jess' bridge. I didn't know that I was going there, but that's where my feet led me. I knew telling Shelby wasn't going to be pretty but I didn't want to yell like that. That's not what I meant to do. I wanted to calmly explain the situation, but no, I had to flip out on her. I'm such a bad mother; I don't know how I've done it these past 16 years. I don't know how I raised such a beautiful, intelligent young lady.

I sat down on the old bridge and pondered these thoughts further until Macy found me sitting there by my lonesome. She pulled me to my feet and dragged me back to my family, my home, the Mariano residence.

--

**Shelby's POV**

I woke up the next morning with a crick in my neck and something heavy on my stomach: it was Natty.

"Zoey, get up, I can't breathe," I shook Natty and her eyes fluttered open.

"Huh—what?" she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"I stayed over last night," I explained as I eased myself out of Pat's lap and over to the bedside table to see the time. It was 6:30am, just enough time to get ready for school.

"Whaa?" Pat mumbled as he rubbed sleep from his eyes and sat up straighter.

"Come on, up, up! We have to go to school," I clapped my hands and went to Natty's closet.

"Mmm," Pat groaned; he was not a morning person.

"Patrick William Smith, get your ass up and in your room, right now!" I ordered.

"How are you awake?" Natty questioned.

"Live with a writer and an editor who type at all hours of the night and you'll understand," I explained while pulling out a pair of light blue jeans and a white long sleeve shirt with a lime green camisole for underneath.

"Sure," they mumbled. Pat slowly stood up as I started to change and stretched his back. He walked silently out of Natty's room and to his to get dressed.

"Did I mention that I hate you?" Natty stated, her voice muffled on account of her face being buried in her pillow. She had relocated by flopping face first on her bed.

"Aw, love you too Zoe!" I flashed her a smile as I changed my shirt. After I had changed, I walked over to the bed, threw off the covers and slapped Natty's ass, "Get the hell up Zoey!" I continued out the door and to Pat's room, I knocked, "Pat!"

"I'm up! I'm dressed!" Pat replied.

"Otay," I grinned, even though he couldn't see me, and went to the bathroom.

Now while I had put up a cheery attitude since I woke up, I was broken inside. I brushed my teeth, did my hair and make-up and just looked in the mirror. I looked fine, no bags under my eyes, my eyes had dried and weren't red and puffy like I imagined they were the night before. I took a deep breath, put on a semi-fake smile and went into the hallway where Pat and Natty were talking. I knew they were talking about me and what happened last night.

"I'm fine," I said, the smile dropping from my face as I walked down the stairs.

"What are we going to do?" I heard Natty say.

"We've got to let her deal with this in her own way. When she needs us we just have to be there," Pat retorted and I heard their footsteps coming my way.

I arrived in the kitchen where Mandy and Mr. and Mrs. Smith were, "We called your house last night," Mrs. Smith told me.

"Thanks Mrs. Carrie. Did they say anything?" I asked curiously as I sat down at the table, lifting Mandy into my lap.

"Your dad picked up. He sounded horrible, he was so worried about you darling. I reassured him that you were alright and that you would be staying the night with us. He thanked me and we hung up," she informed me.

"Oh, okay," I smiled slightly and picked at a bagel.

"Shelby, is there something you want to tell us?" Mrs. Carrie asked me as she put a hand over mine. Natty and Pat were in the kitchen by that time and I set down Mandy on the floor. She instantly went to her sister and Natty picked her up. I took a shaky breath and answered,

"My parents are my cousins, my aunt is my sister, and my grandparents are my aunt and uncle," I explained, voice low and eyes closed, trying to hold back tears.

"Oh Hunnie," Mrs. Carrie gushed.

"You are welcome in this house whenever you need to be here Shelby, I want you to know that," Mr. Smith told me.

"Thanks Mr. Rick," I said sincerely.

"Anytime Sweetie," he replied and went back to his newspaper.

Mandy wiggled out of Natty's grasp and ran over to my legs. She tugged on my shirt and I smiled a teary smile down at her, "Yes Mandy?"

"Shell 'kay?" she asked.

"Yeah, Shell's okay," I answered her with a smile.

With a smile from my little Mandy, I knew that these people were my second family and that everything was going to be okay.

--

A/N: Okay, so as promised this chapter was longer. Now, I'm not one to beg for reviews, but they really do brighten up my day and make me update faster. Please press the pretty little button!


	3. Telling People & The Solution

A/N: Mkay. Let's do this! I am fully aware of the complete character confusion! I confused myself! I'm not sure who all I'm going to bring back into the story from 'You Know You're My Everything?' so I'm just going to write everyone in a little actually big character recap. This story won't be as long as its prequel so don't expect it to be, but it's definitely not over yet. Oh yeah, I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday, but I was going to…really I was! I had like a page and a half written and everything! Then I was in excruciating pain and had to go to the ER so I couldn't.

**Character Recap:**

Shelby Francis Mariano

Rory Leigh Gilmore Mariano

Jesse Anthony Mariano

Lindsay Elizabeth Mariano

Lorelai Victoria Gilmore Danes

Luke Danes

Justin William Danes

Hailey Catherine Gilmore Clutch

Nick Clutch

Matt and Macy Gilmore

Lucas Matthew Gilmore

Lane and Dave Rygawlski

Paris and Jake Lopez

Ashley and Tyler Cervantes

Garret Richard Cervantes

Molly and Steve Richardson

Natalie, Patrick, and Mandy Smith

Carrie and Rick Smith

Lauren, Rachel, Peter, Andy, and Bryan-Shelby's friends

Oh my God! That was like a million people! I promise I will decide who's going to be in the story and put another shorter one in the next chapter! P.S. there is some cussing in this chapter sooo…yeah.

Disclaimer: Don't own…

On with the story…

--

**Chapter 3: Telling People & The Solution**

**After School; Mariano Residence**

**Nobody's POV**

After much persuading from Natty and Pat, Shelby went home after school to talk to her parents.

"I'm home!" Shelby called through the house.

"SHELL!" Lindsey screeched and ran to the front door. Lindsey finally reached Shelby and wrapped her arms around Shelby's legs, "Where were you?"

"Hey Lin! I was over Natty and Pat's house," Shelby leant down and picked her up, setting Lin on her hip, "Where's mom and dad?"

"Kitchen," Lin said.

"Let's go then," Shelby cooed as she set down her purse and walked to the kitchen, tickling Lindsey as they went.

With a giggling Lindsey in her arms, Shelby made her way into the kitchen where Rory and Jess were sitting silently. Their heads snapped up at the noise.

"Shelby…," Jess sighed with relief.

Tears stung Rory's eyes and she put a hand over her mouth, "I'm so sorry," Rory sobbed.

Lindsey wiggled down out of Shelby's grasp and went over to her mother, "Why are you crying mom?"

Rory half-smiled at Lindsey and scooped her up, "Well, mommy made a mistake and upset your sister and I'm sad that I made Shell upset," Rory explained, glancing at Shelby every so often.

Shelby's eyes brimmed with tears and Jess put his head in his hands, trying to be strong for the sake of his girls.

"It's okay mommy," Lindsey started, "I love you," she said as she hugged Rory's neck.

"I love you, too baby," Rory replied, looking at Shelby the whole time.

Lindsey hopped off Rory and went to the living room to watch cartoons.

"Mommy," Shelby whispered and put a sleeve-covered hand over her mouth, trying to stop a sob from escaping.

"Oh Hunnie," Rory said as she immediately got up and went to Shelby, wrapping her up in a hug. "I love you, I love you so much. I never wanted fort his to hurt you. I was trying to protect you, to be a good mother," Rory whispered through sobs.

Jess silently got up and walked over to his girls. Rory stepped back and looked at Jess. He looked horrible, like he had been completely stressed for awhile. Shelby looked at him and started crying even harder, knowing that she caused his distraught look.

"Daddy?" Shelby whispered.

Jess pulled Shelby to him in a tight embrace, "Shh, baby it's okay. Everything is going to be fine. I love you Shelby, God; I've loved your sister and you since the first day you got here."

Shelby sobbed freely into his shirt and he brought them into the living room where Lindsey was sitting.

"Lin, why don't you go in your room and color?" Rory suggested.

"Okay," Lindsey said and went up to her room.

Jess sat down on the vacated couch, gently rocking Shelby back and fourth.

"I wish I could make this better, I wish you didn't have to feel like this," Jess confessed as a single tear found its way down his cheek.

Shelby simply kept crying and letting Jess hold her. Rory sat by rubbing her back and after 10 minutes of this Shelby lifted her head form Jess' chest.

"I love you," she whispered.

"We love you too Hunnie," Rory said.

"Tell me what happened the day we came," Shelby insisted.

"You sure?" Rory asked.

"Yup," Shelby answered shortly, wiping her eyes.

"Okay," Rory stated as she stroked her hair.

"Well," Jess started, "Rory and I were just lying on the couch," he glanced at Rory and smirked, she blushed in return, "when the doorbell interrupted us. I cursed and Rory got up to get the door."

"So, I open the door and find a 15-year-old girl and a baby on my doorstep. I asked Hailey what was wrong and she told that she needed to see a Lorelai Gilmore-"

"Then I yelled to her that I hated her because she interrupted us."

"Yeah, so Hailey got all shy and I told her not to worry about him, that he was just grumpy and asked which Lorelai she needed. She said my mom and I went to tell Jess to apologize because Hailey was upset and he did. So, Hailey told us that your parents had left a note that said they couldn't handle being parents anymore and that if they needed anything they should go see Lorelai Gilmore and they address of our house."

"Hailey started crying and Rory hugged her and ordered me to bring you into the house and rock you, you had also started to cry."

"Yeah, and he just kind of looked at me like I was crazy. So I yelled at him and he finally picked you up and brought you in the living room to the chair."

"While Rory was getting the full story out of your sister, I was rocking you and we both fell asleep in the chair."

"It was sooo cute. So I took a picture of it and called my mom. She was so worried and came home right away bringing my dad with her. Matt also came home and I met them in the kitchen. We went back in the living room to find Jess standing and trying to get you to stop crying. I went over and while we were with you, the three of them asked Hailey _more_ questions. My parents went in the kitchen and by the time they came back out with a decision, Hailey, Jess, you and I were sprawled out together on the couch sleeping."

"We woke up in the morning and that was when both Rory and I confessed that we already loved you guys so much. It was at that moment that we assumed parents. Not so much for Hailey as for you, but Hailey knew we were always there."

"And that is how you came into our lives. After that day we were the ones that stayed up at all hours of the night with you," Rory finished.

"Wow," Shelby said in awe.

"Yup, 16 and we were taking care of a 6-month-old baby," Jess said.

"Did both of you guys live in the Crap Shack?" Shelby questioned.

"Well, I did, but Matt and Jess lived in the apartment above the diner. Jess and I switched on and off with you," Rory explained.

Shelby sat back in the couch and covered her face with her hands.

"Sweets?" Rory said.

"Uh huh?" Shelby answered.

"You okay, babe?" Jess asked as she put a hand on her knee and squeezed it gently.

"Yeah, I just—I just wish," Shelby sighed then sniffled, "I don't know," she started to cry again, "I just don't know."

Rory took Shelby in her arms and held her tight against her, stroking her hair, "Shh, it's okay. We'll get through this together," Rory said as her own tears started to fall.

Jess reached a thumb over and wiped away Rory's tears, and then gently scratched Shelby's back.

"I have to—to go and talk to someone other than family," Shelby stood up and looked down at Rory and Jess.

Jess nodded silently and Rory's eyes brimmed tears again, "Okay," Jess said and pulled Rory to him. Shelby looked at her concerned, "She'll be fine," Jess assured.

"Okay," Shelby said quietly, "I think I'm going to go to Lauren's. I'll call when I know what I'm doing."

"Okay," Jess said and Shelby turned to leave, "We love you Shell."

"I love you too," Shelby whispered and made her way back out of the door.

Shelby left her house and walked over to Lauren's. She knocked on the door and waited for someone to come to the door.

"Hey Shell," Lauren smiled at her and opened her door wider.

"Hey," Shelby said quietly and stepped into her house.

"What's wrong?" Lauren asked concernedly when she saw Shelby's tear-stained face.

Shelby sighed and started the long story about everything she had found out in the past 2 days. As soon as Lauren heard this she pulled Shelby to her and tried her best to sooth her when she started to cry.

"I'm so sorry Shell," Lauren said, "Maybe you should talk to Stevie about all of this," Lauren suggested.

Stevie was a friend of theirs; she was a senior at SHH while they were juniors.

"Good idea," Shelby said, pulled back and wiping her eyes for the millionth time in the past 2 days.

"Alright, call me if you need anything okay?" Lauren said.

"Okay," Shelby nodded and forced a small smile to her friend.

"Bye," Lauren said as Shelby walked out the door.

Shelby practically ran the whole .5 miles to Stevie Knox's house. By the time she had reached Stevie's house she was panting and had a cramp in her left side. She unsteadily walked to the door and knocked. "Stevie! Stevie open up!" Shelby yelled when there was no answer, "I need you!" she sobbed.

"Shelby?" Stevie opened the door and looked at her very distraught friend.

"My whole life has been a lie!" Shelby explained becoming angry.

"What?" Stevie asked confused.

"My whole life; my whole _fucking_ **life**, Stevie!" Shelby exclaimed.

"What? What about your life? Your life is amazing, what is going on?" Stevie probed as she brought Shelby into her house.

"How could they? How could they do this to me!? They're supposed to love and protect me!" Shelby put her hands on her head and started pacing while angry tears spilled out of her eyes.

"Who? Who is supposed to love and protect you?" Stevie exclaimed, getting frustrated.

"MY PARENTS!" Shelby finally explained and collapsed on the couch, "Or sorry, I mean my _cousins_!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Stevie almost yelled she was so confused.

Shelby sniffled and explained everything to Stevie. Stevie's reaction was the most different out of everyone she had told. She didn't cry like her parents, she didn't comfort her by holding her and letting her sleep, and she didn't try to understand and help her. She simply stared at Shelby with narrowed eyes and Shelby thought she could almost see furry burning in them, but pushed the thought aside.

"Well?" Shelby said after a long pause.

"What the hell is wrong with you Shelby Francis _Mariano_?" Stevie hissed, "Have your _parents_ ever given you any reason to think that they don't love you?"

Silence.

"Did they ever once look at you differently than they looked at Lindsey?"

Silence.

"Did they ever ignore you when you needed them? When you were hurt, did they try and make you feel better? Did they do everything they could to give you a good life? Did they ever hit you? Neglect you? Tell you they didn't love you? Did they put up with all of your shit? Did they ever once give you any idea that they didn't want you?" Stevie was in tears by the end of her tirade.

"Stevie…," Shelby tried to reach out to her.

"No! At least you have 2 parents Shelby! At least your dad has never laid a hand on you!" Stevie recoiled from the attempted touch and put her hands up in surrender.

"I-I'm sorry," Shelby stuttered.

"No, don't be. I understand that that is a big thing to comprehend, but you have to look at this way: all your parents have ever done is love you and do everything they can for you. Don't take that for granted."

"I'm so sorry," Shelby reiterated.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Stevie rubbed her back and kissed her temple.

"I was so mean to them. My dad cried!" Shelby exclaimed, her breaths shortening in panic, "They probably hate me now!"

"If I know your parents at all, which I do, that is nowhere near true. Go home and tell them that you're sorry and that you love them despite everything," Stevie suggested.

"Okay," Shelby nodded her head to herself, "Thank you so much Stevie."

"It's what I'm here for," Stevie smiled a soft smile and showed Shelby to the door.

Once outside, Shelby pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello?"

"I'm coming home."

--

A/N: Okay, so the physical pain I'm in at the moment has helped me to write better. As some of you know, I write better when I'm emotional or upset and well, this constant pain in my neck helps with that sooo…..yeah. Press the pretty little button!


	4. Acceptance

A/N: I think this is going to be the last chapter…I'm not sure yet…I'll let you know at the bottom author's note.

**Character Recap:**

Shelby, Rory, Jess, Lorelai, Luke, Justin, Matt, Macy, Lucas, and Garret

Disclaimer: Don't own…

On with the story…

--

**Chapter 4: Acceptance**

Shelby hung up her phone and put it back in her pocket. She walked with a determined look on her face, love in her eyes, and purpose in her step back to the Mariano home. By the time she was about 2 blocks from her house she broke out into a run. When she finally reached her house, she busted in the door. Rory and Jess jumped because of the sudden noise and they turned to face the door. Shelby was breathing heavily and all Rory and Jess could do was look at her expectantly.

"I love you," Shelby cried hoarsely.

"Oh Sweets, we love you, too," Rory assured as she immediately got up from the couch and went over to hug Shelby.

"I'm so sorry," Shelby whispered over and over again, crying.

"_You're_ sorry? Sorry for what babe?" Rory asked.

"For being so mean to you guys! For taking you for granted! I was such a horrible daughter! How could you possibly still love me?" Shelby sobbed into Rory's chest.

"Shelby Francis Mariano," Jess said sternly, "How could you even _think_ that we wouldn't love you? You are our daughter, our baby girl; we could never not love you."

Shelby was not sobbing freely, "I'm so sorry," she kept repeating.

"Don't even worry about it. We completely understand," Jess said as he hugged her to his chest.

"Are you sure?" Shelby whispered.

"Positive," Rory answered.

"Okay," was Shelby's only reply. She clung to Jess and he stood, stroking her hair, trying to sooth her.

All of sudden, Lindsey Elizabeth Mariano decided to grace their presence and bolted into the living room.

"SHELBY!" she exclaimed.

"Yes Lin?" Shelby said as she pulled away from Jess.

"Why are you crying?" Lindsey asked.

"Because I was upset," Shelby told her.

"Why?" Lindsey tilted her head to the side.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Shelby smiled at Lindsey and started to tickle her.

"AH! NO! Shelby! Ahhh!! NO! STOP!" Lindsey squealed.

"Nope! I'm the tickle monster!" Shelby told Lindsey and kept tickling her.

After many minutes of intense tickling, Shelby stopped and she and Lindsey were on the floor breathing heavily, Rory and Jess off to the side smiling at their girls.

"I love you, Shelby," Lindsey said and hugged her.

"I love you, too Lindsey," Shelby replied, hugging her back.

--

**Later; Luke's Diner**

Rory and Jess hadn't told anyone that Shelby knew. The only people that knew were Hailey and everyone that Shelby had told. So, when the Marianos walked into Luke's Diner that evening, Shelby was the only one that felt uncomfortable.

"Hey Shelby! How's my grandbaby?" Lorelai asked and brought Shelby into a hug.

"Gra-_an_," Lindsey dragged her name into two syllables and tugged on her shirt.

"Yes Lin?" Lorelai looked down at her other grandchild.

"I want a hug!" Lindsey said.

"Of course!" Lorelai picked her up and hugged her tightly to her.

"Hey Shell," Macy laughed at Lorelai and Lindsey as she hugged Shelby.

"Hi Aunt Macy," Shelby also laughed at her sister's antics.

"Is that little Shelby? The little girl who kept me up at all hours of the night when her father was forced to take her?" Matt smirked at Shelby and Shelby ran to him, she always did love her Uncle Matt.

"Hey Uncle Matt," Shelby laughed, "and yes, I was that little baby," Shelby answered, "_Sorry about that_," she stage whispered.

"No problem kiddo," Matt said.

"Where's my little Lucas?" Shelby's smile brightened and her eyes lit up.

"Right here," came Luke's gruff reply, "Don't call me Lucas."

"No, not you Gramps, Lucas! My little Lucas!" Shelby explained.

"He and Garret should be here any minute," Matt said.

"Okay," Shelby replied. Then you heard Lorelai gasp.

"Mom?" Matt said.

"Oh, okay," Lorelai sighed with relief and put a hand to her chest.

"Mom? What's going on?" Matt questioned again.

Shelby knew what was going on. Lorelai glanced at Shelby then to Rory and back to Matt, "I know," Shelby whispered, looking down at her shoes.

"What?" Matt said confused.

"I _know_," Shelby repeated, looking Matt in the eyes, trying to get him to understand.

Realization dawned on his face, "_Oh_."

"She knows?" Macy asked.

"YES! I know! My God! I've known for two days and have accepted it. So, if we could drop this and have a nice family dinner that would be great," Shelby exclaimed, sardonically at the end.

"Okay," Matt said as Lucas and Garret walked in.

"Lucas!" Shelby exclaimed and ran over to her cousin.

"Hey Shell," Lucas chuckled at his cousin's enthusiasm.

"Garret," Shelby smiled and hugged him also.

"Hi Shelby," Garret replied.

"Wait," Shelby stands up straight and turns to the counter, "Where's Justin, Gramps?"

"Right here," Justin says, coming from the stairs behind the counter.

"Hey!" Shelby bounced over to him to give him a hug.

"What's with you, Mariano?" Justin asked skeptically.

"What?" Shelby said with a funny face.

"Why so perky?" he inquired.

"Having a good day," she smiled at him.

"I know you better than that, Mariano," Justin narrowed his eyes.

"I'll talk to you later, Danes," Shelby said seriously.

"Okay," Justin replied, knowing that this was something serious.

Shelby and Justin, although 2 years apart, were very close with each other.

"Let's eat!" Lorelai exclaimed suddenly.

"Yeah!" Rory agreed and they pushed tables together to have a nice family dinner as Shelby had suggested.

--

**9:30pm; Above the Diner**

Shelby and Justin were sitting on the couch above the diner watching TV while their parents talked downstairs. Macy, Matt, Lucas, and Garret had already gone home and so Shelby and Justin decided to sneak upstairs so they wouldn't have to clean anything or help close up.

Suddenly, Justin turned off the TV.

"Hey, I was watching that," Shelby whined.

"So, why the mood?" Justin asked.

"You sure you want to know? It's kind of odd," Shelby suddenly found fasination in her hands.

"Unless it has something to do with a boy, than yes I want to know," Justin insisted.

"Okay, well first of all, my parents aren't my parents, I'm adopted," Shelby started.

"What? But you and Jess have the same hair and you have Rory's eyes," Justin said, shocked.

"Well, I'm related to them," Shelby explained.

"How?" Justin asked.

"They're my cousins," Shelby informed.

"What!?" Justin exclaimed.

Shelby sighed, "Your parents are my aunt and uncle and Hailey is my sister."

"Whoa, back up! Explain this in a logical way please," Justin requested.

"When I was 6 months old and Hailey was 15, our parents left us to our house by ourselves and told us to go see a Lorelai Gilmore if we needed anything. Hailey couldn't handle it, so she came here to Stars Hollow and Lorelai and Luke let us live with them. Jess and Rory, who were young and in love, took me as their daughter, apparently, they fell in love me at first sight."

"So, in summary: my biological mom is Gran's sister, Hailey is _my_ sister, my parents are actually my cousins and your parents are my aunt and uncle," Shelby finished.

"Wow," Justin sat back in the couch.

"Yup," Shelby replied as she also sat back.

Justin turned his head to face her, "You were happy about this?"

"No, I was happy that after I found out, my parents forgave me for the way I reacted," Shelby answered, also tuning her head.

He turned his head back, "Oh."

"Yeah," she said and laid her head on his shoulder.

The Gilmore/Mariano/Danes family accepted the truth and realized that this changed nothing. They still loved each other the same and treated each other the same. Rory and Jess were still Shelby's parents and Lorelai and Luke were still Hailey's parents and Shelby's grandparents. Hailey was still Shelby's aunt and Lindsey was still her sister. Although the truth hurt, everything would be okay because they were a family and families get each other through everything, even when it hurts like hell.

--

A/N: Okay, so that was the last chapter. I know this story was short-lived and not very interesting, but that's okay. It wasn't going to go into a whole other story line thing. If you guys really want, I can write a story about the trip to New York, but that's about the only other thing you're going to get from this story. Okay, so that's it.

**Personal Thank You-s:**

**Literati and naley forever**- Once again, thank you bunches for reviewing!

**RBDFAN**- Ahh, it's good to know I'll always have you and Curley-Q to review my stuff.

**Curley-Q**- What can I say? You are a very faithful reviewer. You and RBDFAN are pretty much my favorite reviewers.

**hollowgirl22**- Also one of my favorite reviewers. Thanks so much for the reviews!

**Dark Cascade**- Thank you very very much for the high praise. It means so much to know people like my stuff that much! I hope you liked how this turned out!

**RoryLoganluver**- Thank you for the review and suggestion about the characters. When I started writing I didn't realize how many characters there were. Plus, all of the people who were introduced because of the epilogue to the prequel. I hope I made it easier!


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